G1 to Get Froyo?

Since Froyo was open-sourced last week, the number one question that people have asked is “Will my G1 get Froyo?” I’d love to give an emphatic ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as a reply, but carrier flip-flopping and silence on these issues makes that impossible.

However, comments from Google team members make it seem highly unlikely that the G1 will get Android 2.2, and no one should be surprised by this. After all, two major Android updates have passed since the G1 received Android 1.6, and T-Mobile hasn’t applied either update to the phone. They’ve been eerily silent on the issue, repeating the company line that it’s “Exploring options” whenever someone asked. Some sites are reporting that there’s a slight chance that the HTC Dream could be upgraded based on the following comments from Android team member Jean-Baptiste Queru.

We’ve also incorporated into the core platform all the configuration files necessary to build the source code of Android Open-Source Project on its own. You can now build and boot a fully open-source system image out of the box, for the emulator, as well as for Dream (ADP1), Sapphire (ADP2), and Passion (Nexus One).

I wouldn’t consider that a ringing endorsement that Froyo could officially come to the G1 (HTC Dream); it’s just saying that the source code for Froyo makes it possible to build a ROM that could fit on the phone. We’ve always known that since custom ROM-makers have been building their own Android flavors that fit on the G1, usually through removing features and portions of the software. Carriers are less likely to take that approach, making it tough to think T-Mobile will be able to get Android 2.2 onto the first Android phone.

Watch this video from Google I/O addressing this very issue and you’ll see why chances are slim – reallyslim – that early adopters will be able to get Froyo without rooting their phone and installing a third-party ROM.